A woman crashes a wedding when she overhears a conversation between the bride and a groomsman in the stairwell, and it all goes awry from there!

If you love quirky romances, you'll love Mia Sosa's latest. I personally really enjoyed Solange as the main character - she was fiery and confident, and fiercely loyal. I also didn't mind Dean, your classic rich, white lawyer-type with a humorous streak.

This book did feel a little all over the place, however. Sometimes it felt like the plot was going off the rails, almost like there were too many things happening at once. Also, I found the humor to be a little forced at times.

I thought this was a fine, cute read, but definitely not my favorite romance of all time.

"I stare up at him, my mouth agape. 'Yeah, you're definitely a clone. How are you not stressed about this?' I'm seconds from full-on whining, and I want to slap myself.

He arches an eyebrow and tilts his head. ‘Oh, I’m stressed about this, all right. But probably not for the same
the reason you are.’

‘What’s your reason, then?’

‘It’s hard to pretend to be your boyfriend and not want to hold you. For real.”

I’m so excited to have the opportunity to read an ARC of Mia Sosa’s newest book, The Wedding Crasher! I enjoyed The Worst Best Man, and I’m beginning to think I’ll pick up anything Mia Sosa writes. This book is all about Solange and Dean. Dean’s about to get married, but Solange crashes his wedding. Do Dean and Solange know each other? Nope. But crashing a stranger’s wedding really does expedite romance. I loved getting to know Solange and Dean, as they figured out what they wanted in life and ultimately realized it was each other. Lots of good laughs, some very unexpected experiences, and one family full of all the love and support.

This book is for you if you love: fake dating, dual POVs, one shared bed, lots of steam (🌶🌶🌶), and BIPOC characters written by a BIPOC author!

Lastly, I want to send my thanks to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange for my honest thoughts!

As a teacher, I tell my students that it is important to step outside of our comfort zones from time to time to expand our knowledge. “The Wedding Crasher” is not my typical genre of reading, so I chose to read it to grow as a reader. I am overjoyed that I chose to read Mia Sosa’s book. This is a great romantic comedy that I found to be a relatable read. I thoroughly enjoyed the story being told from the characters’ different view points as well as the occasional plot twists. This may have been the first time I’ve read one of Mia Sosa’s books, but it definitely won’t be the last. I will definitely be recommending this boo to my book club as well as my fellow teacher colleagues.

Fun fake dating trope. The book starts with Solange Pereira stopping a wedding after hearing the bride in a private conversation. Turns out the groom, Dean Chapman isn’t that upset about the wedding mishap. But hers in the only name he can come up with when he needs a fake girlfriend to help him earn partnership at his law firm. Solange agrees with some basic ground rules. Turns out they get along great. But unfortunately for them they are seemingly heading in different directions. He wants a plan and commitment and she is fearful of passing up other chances.

There are so many things that are done really well. Solange’s mom, tias and cousins are fantastic as cultural and family support. The MCs are basically good people wanting to do good in the world. The steam factor is sizzling hot with lots of consent and check-ins. I got a little weary at how many antics were thrown in; karaoke Magic Mike, feel your delivery pain machine, sex party (I hate voyeurism) etc. And the second fake dating set up felt like more of the same piled on top. I did like how carefully the author plots the ending to match up with the beginning but it felt contrived. Dean and Solange are both articulate and in touch with emotions to talk things out without so much other stuff happening.

I’m not sure if this is considered a sequel or a stand alone in the same world as “The Worst Best Man”. But Solange is the cousin of Lina and Dean is best friends with Max, the leads in that novel. Both appear in this book. I enjoyed this book with a few reservations for being over the top. I will still gladly read more from the author. Thank you NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for an eARC in exchange for an honest review. (3.5 stars)

Rarely does a sequel surpass the original book, and this one KILLED IT! When Solange finds herself in a difficult situation moments before her friends Dean's wedding, she comes in at the last minute and breaks up the wedding. A classic fake dating trope, Solange and Dean decide to join forces. Dean will look like a family man at work and get closer to becoming partner at his law firm, and Solange will get her family off her back for being single. Can they pull it off? Or will Dean's job and Solange's Family smell through the lie?

This book was so enjoyable. Their chemistry was so palpable, and there was a nice balance of steamy scenes and plot. I loved the close nit American Brazilian family dynamic. We see some of our favorite characters for the Worst Best Man as well, but you don't have to read it first to get the second book.

After Solange Pereira stops a wedding she hardly expects to see the groom again, much less to be posing as his girlfriend. Dean Chapman has a plan and being passed over at work because his wedding fell threw isn't part of it. In a moment of panic and a quick lie later, Solange and Dean are back in each other's lives. What starts as a pretend quickly builds to a real friendship and maybe more.

This was such a fun read. I love a fake dating story. It's pretty much always a good time. This book was warm and easy to fall into, exactly what I wanted this week. Mia Sosa does a great job of building relationships I want to cheer for and communities that I love. Solange's family is one of my favorite pieces of this story as is the importance of friendship that is placed both between the characters and outside of that relationship.

Cute read. I am a continuous sucker for the fake dating plot. Solange interrupted Dean’s wedding so the least she could do is become his intended in order to get a promotion. The law firm Andrew the same name as my home town, imagine that.
A few scenes were hilarious: the sex party and karaoke were tow of my favorites. The sex scenes were steamy and eye popping.
The Wedding Crasher is sure to be a hit with readers.

Title: The Wedding Crasher
Author: Mia Sosa
Publisher: @Avonbooks and @HarperVoyagerUS
Release: 04/05/22

Rating: 4/5
Genre: Romance
Tropes: Fake dating, interracial, a bit of only one bed and friends to lovers
Steam: more than 1 open door, on page

This was my first Mia Sosa book and I really enjoyed it - so much that I want to read the previous story. Fake dating isn’t necessarily my favorite trope but I loved reading Solange and Dean fake date. Their dates were actually fun and convincing (probably because of the dossiers). Ultimately my favorite part of their romance was how their friendship developed, they had such great chemistry. I liked Dean so much even though I think he seemed too good to be true, upfront and honest with Solange more than I would expect. Usually these ambitious guys with strenuous jobs in stories are grumpy at best, assholes at worst, Dean was so light and funny - I suppose because he had such a clear plan that he stuck to that gave him the freedom to have a personality.They got along so well, instantly, but not instalove - it was refreshing.

Also set in and around DC! Local to me so … points!
#TheWeddingCrasher #NetGalley

Thank you to #NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for an ARC of #TheWeddingCrasher in exchange for an honest review.

I don't really know how to rate this. I settled on a four because I did enjoy the book however, there were some aspects that I found to be slightly annoying. Solange and Dean seemed to have great chemistry and I actually liked the strangers to lovers storyline with the fake dating mixed in. I thought it was cute that Solange interrupted the wedding and then Dean ended up interrupting her "wedding". I appreciated the level of detail in that. However, the part where Solange took Dean's mother to the store and Peter "found out" seemed really unnecessary, mostly because they were basically dating at this point. They could have easily just said that. THEN it went on to Dean talking to Solange and again, this could have easily been resolved but it continued on with them "breaking up". I felt like that whole miscommunication part was unnecessary and really took away from the story. It really felt just a touch too long, it could have been wrapped up at about the 90% mark. Overall, it was an easy read and I enjoy the characters.

I’m trying to be very cool about this but I don’t think that’s going to happen. I know I sound dramatic when I say this but I don’t care. We don’t deserve this book or the incredible talent of Mia Sosa. The Wedding Crasher was everything! It was pure magic. It had everything I could ever want and things I didn’t even know I wanted in one book.

I knew this book was going to be good the minute I read this “Fate: You. Are. Trash. because if this man were free, he would definitely rise to the top of my to-do-list.”

I honestly didn’t think this book could be better than The Worst Best Man but I was very wrong and I loved The Worst Best Man. Completely took me by surprise. Anyway, if you didn’t read TWBM you don’t have to in order to read this one however I highly recommend reading it anyway.

This masterpiece is about Solange and Dean, their families, a wedding crasher, fake dating, rom-com material, 🌶🥵, hilarious and awkward situations, best friends having your back and a fairy tale grand gesture that will make you unable to think clearly.

If there is one quote that would convince you to read this book it’s this. This one got me right in the freakin feels (yes I cried): “And this isn’t about jealously or wanting what I can’t have or anything like that. It’s really that over the course of the weeks I’ve known you, I’ve gotten glimpses of what it would be like to be your person. I’ve gotten a taste of what it would be like to be the one loving you. And it kind of feeling like an honor. Like maybe I don’t deserve you. But I want to try and earn a place in your heart.”

I am officially a puddle on the floor. Please don’t send help, I’ve already pre-ordered the book so help is on the way!

But the big question is, is the next book about Jalene and Brandon?!!!

Solange Perreira is leaving Washington, DC at the end of the summer when her fellowship ends at the temporary job where she is teaching at Victory Academy. She really enjoys the students and has lots of ideas that could really help the kids out. When Solange is informed that someone is retiring and she could stay permanently, she is at a crossroad because in her mind she was already leaving. Solange gets roped into helping her cousins out at a big wedding where Lina is the wedding coordinator and Natalia is the cosmetologist doing the bridal party's make up. When Solange overhears the bride-to-be talking to a man, telling him that she loves him and wants him to stop the wedding, Solange feels that she needs to let the groom know this revelation and stops the wedding. The groom, Dean Chapman, was going through with this marriage as an arrangement, not because of love but ultimately they agree to call off the wedding. Solange feels horrible and tells Dean if he is ever in a bind to give her all call and she will help. Dean is drawn to Solange in an interesting way and when his track to make partner at the law firm is in jeopardy because he is not in a relationship anymore, he decides to ask Solange to be his "pretend" girlfriend. They will have to continue this ruse while also trying to woo a big time lawyer to join their firm. The more time straitlaced Dean and happy-go-lucky Solange spend together, the more real their feelings actually become. The biggest problem is that Solange wants the whole princess fairy tale and Dean doesn't really believe in love.....but maybe these two may have just found their perfect happy ending.

I loved this steamy, fake relationship, opposites attract story. Dean had a checklist of things he wanted to accomplish in his life by a certain age and real love doesn't play into any of it. Solange just wanted to be truly loved by someone. Somehow these two found something real and their chemistry was fun and sizzling. This was a real enjoyable read.

I added this book to my TBR list primarily because I remember enjoying this author’s previous title (and with characters in the same universe!). After starting it and reading the summary again, I realized that this book had fake dating, which is always a nice surprise. The Wedding Crasher was a fun romance with fake dating and a whole lot of chemistry.

Solange Pereira is helping her cousin out at a wedding she’s working at when she overhears the bride confessing her love for someone who’s not the groom. When the time comes to object to the wedding, she can’t help herself. Dean Chapman, the groom, isn’t too heartbroken about his wedding being called off since it was mostly a “modern-day marriage of convenience.” However, when a volunteer work assignment creates a situation that requires a partner, he enlists Solange into pretending to be his girlfriend. From there, they grow closer as the line between fake and real dating starts to blur.

I liked the characters! Both protagonists had very distinct voices. Solange knows what she wants and does it, most clearly seen in her crashing a stranger’s wedding and stopping it. Dean, meanwhile, lives life to fulfill every bullet point in his plan. On paper, they seem like the opposites of each other, but in real life, they have so much chemistry that’s impossible to ignore.

I also liked seeing Solange’s relationship with her family. She’s incredibly close with all of them, especially her mother. Reading about her trying to wrangle her mom and aunts into playing along with her and Dean’s fake dating scheme was so funny. Lina, the protagonist of Sosa’s previous novel, also makes a few appearances with her boyfriend Max.

Fake dating stories usually have a healthy dose of seemingly unrequited love, but that’s not really the case here. Solange and Dean clear the air about their feelings fairly early. In the meantime, a series of wild events occurs throughout the book, including a segue from a sex party scene to a family member giving birth scene. I just had a lot of fun with this book!

The Wedding Crasher was a fun romp of a book. I liked the characters and the way the fake-dating trope played out. If you’re a fan of fake dating romances with many steamy scenes, you should check out The Wedding Crasher!

The Wedding Crasher
Author: Mia Sosa

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Notes: I received a copy of this book to review in advance but all thoughts and opinions are my own. This book will be released April 5th.

What I Loved:
💍The TENSION!!! The tension between Solange and Dean was superb. I love any book that has a will they won’t they vibe and this one delivers for sure.

💍All the Brazilian foods! My husband is Brazilian so I’m very familiar with. All the foods mentioned. Every time I saw I new one, I’d stop to tell him!

💍The tias. Ah, they were so adorable! Like a Greek chorus…b it Brazilian! 😉

💍Kimberly and Nia. I loved how you could tell that they saw through the BS and knew Solange was amazing.

What I Didn’t Like:
💍 How Solange couldn’t make a decision. I know it was part of her story arc, but it had me screaming at my kindle! Girl, pick the guy and job that are right in front of you!!!

Final Thoughts:
💍This was such a sweet (and a little spicy 🌶 read). I had a bit of a book hangover after reading something else and this definitely helped me get over that. Definitely would recommend for anyone who loves a good Rom Com!

I really enjoyed this contemporary fake dating romance set in and around Washington DC. The Wedding Crasher is Mia Sosa’s follow up to The Worst Best Man.

Solange Pereira agrees to help her cousin at a wedding and inadvertently becomes the main attraction when she overhears the bride profess her love to a man who is not the groom. Dean isn’t heartbroken about being left at the alter. It’s disappointing though. He had hoped to get life partner ticked off his to-do list, but he wasn’t in love. Dean knows love exists and wants nothing to do with it. Solange knows some people play at love and she only wants someone who will love her the way she deserves.

After some classic rom-com shenanigans, Dean and Solange enter into a fake dating arrangement so that he can woo a promising attorney to his law firm and strengthen his shot at partnership (also on the to-do list). Naturally the fake dating gets out of control with part of her family in on it, and part being hoodwinked. While Dean is trying to keep his life plan on track, Solange is trying to figure out what’s next for her professionally.

A common complaint in rom-coms is that the whole plot could have been solved with a conversation. Solange and Dean have many conversations about what they want and why the things they want for themselves make a long term relationship between them impossible. The problem isn’t communication between them, but the defenses they’ve built to avoid future hurt. The two of them are lovely together. My frustration was never about their communication, and always about their failure to recognize that they had met the person that would change their life for the better.

I love the way Mia Sosa shows off Washington DC in a way that makes you believe the characters really live there. My thighs were screaming when they walked up 13th St NW from U Street to Columbia Heights. I think that’s the steepest hill in DC. Solange and Dean don’t turn around to admire the view from the top because they’ve seen it a hundred times.

Content notes: watching public sex, office sabotage and toxic work environment, absent fathers, drinking, a nice woman married to an awful man, discussion of evictions.

I received this as an advance reader copy from Avon and Harper Voyager via NetGalley. My opinions are my own.

3.75 rating
While I did overall enjoy this book, I feel as though I had slight problems with the overall pacing and plot development. I absolutely loved The Worst Best Man by Mia Sosa, and definitely had some high expectations for this book because of that. I will for sure still recommend this to others as I know the tropes and romance can hold up on its own, but would love to see how the story is told in the final copy.

Actual rating: 4.5 stars

I could have sworn that I had never read a Mia Sosa, but I think that I read The Worst Best Man and then saw this in Netgalley and immediately requested because hot DANG. So I love the fake dating trope a ton and I loved this book. I love how strong of a presence Solange's family is in the story and I appreciate so much that this follows a lot of single mothers. Dean is a dreamboat and despite his lack of commitment to romance is so sweet. There is a lot of angsty, will they/won't they/please god just do it already - and the sex parts are just really well written. I cannot wait for more books from Mia. I hope that she writes about Kimberly and Nia (hope I remembered their names correctly) because I would love to hear that story even though we know the outcome.

Great follow-up to The Worst Best Man! I enjoyed this one even more. Loved the way Max and Lina played into this story. All the *steam* was perfectly written. Mia Sosa is a must-read!

Thanks to NetGalley and Avon publishing for this ARC.

This book follows Dean and Solange. Solange crashes his wedding (he didn't love the girl and the girl didn't love him, so nbd). But then he gets caught up in a bid for partner at his law firm that rides on him showing a woman and her girlfriend a good time in DC and he insists he has a new girlfriend–Solange. Solange goes along with the scheme because she figures she owes him and then he pretends to be her boyfriend for her out of town family.

Obviously, their fake dating turns to real feelings really fast. Here's the thing, this book is fun but it's not GREAT. Their relationship and draw to each other doesn't make a lot of sense. It's an opposites attract kind of book, which is fine, but there is such a thing as TOO opposite. The biggest issue is that they really have very little in common AND they have opposite personalities. She doesn't want to fall in love because she's worried it will be a mistake and ruin her life, he doesn't want to fall in love because he doesn't want to be left behind and used.

He understands why she is hesitant, but honestly Solange kind of sucks. She refuses to understand why he has a hard time admitting his feelings for her even though he's quite clear (and so is his mother) about why he craves stability. Solange knows she isn't super stable and for most of the book she doesn't want to be and then she takes issue with Dean letting her go because she can't offer him stability. Her whole reaction is so over the top and kind of mean, she makes no attempt to really understand why he wants stability nor does she (until much later) make the adult decision to finally let herself be stable.

It's just a case of the misfits. But makes it hard to really love this book because you honestly don't really want them to be together.

I absolutely adored this romantic comedy. Solange and Dean were the “best friend with a bottle of wine on the couch in our pajamas” for me the last few weeks! Sosa wrote a romantic comedy with a sophisticated edge on fake-dating. Her supporting characters had depth and insight to offer without being cheesy or taking away from the actual romance of the story. What separates Mia from the rest is her ability in ‘pen-to-papering’ hilarity. I am not one who ever really laughs in romantic comedys although I do find myself smiling. The prose in this work had me actually laughing and the dialogue between the characters was well paced and didn’t drag. She also writes one HELL of a sex scene so if you’re looking for relatable love, witty banter, and a slow burn steam approach this is an easy must buy. Cheers on all of your success in this novel Mia. “Acknowledgements: you’re a relentless bitch” LMAO. Love that.

Even though this book takes on the tried and true fake dating trope... it managed to be so refreshing and fun!

Solange and Dean meet under the strangest of circumstances when she crashes his wedding... and convinces his bride to leave him for another man.

You would think that they would want nothing to do with each other after such an incident, but when Dean faces harsh scrutiny from his bosses in his efforts to become a partner at his law firm, he decides the best way to show that he is a committed man is to introduce his serious girlfriend... Solange.

Readers know what to expect from these characters, but the evolution from strangers to friends to lovers is smoother and more realistic than a lot of books featuring the same kind of plot.

The characters are hilarious, real, and well-written, guaranteeing a fun read for all!

Special thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing access to this book in exchange for my honest review.